Dyslexia coordinator updates school board on program

Abby Keller is the Dyslexia Coordinator for the Fredericktown School District, where she primarily works with elementary and intermediate school students. Submitted by Abbey Keller

Fredericktown Dyslexia Coordinator Abbey Keller spoke to the Fredericktown School Board in November about her program which provides screening, intervention and support to students with dyslexia. She said 36 students from elementary to intermediate had characteristics of dyslexia.

Keller meets with students in small groups of five or six and teaches the “Take Flight” program to students with dyslexia. They focus on spelling rules for words, letter sounds and phonemic awareness.

Keller began with some basic facts about dyslexia. It includes “difficulty in word reading or spelling that involve accuracy, speed or both,” Keller read. It can also exist on a spectrum of severity, with complex causes.

“They updated the definition of dyslexia in 2025, and it’s a lot more precise and longer than in 2002,” Keller said.

This is Keller’s first year teaching as dyslexia coordinator, after several years as an elementary school teacher.

She said dyslexia affects one in five people, and is one of the most common causes for reading difficulties worldwide. It is hereditary and neurobiological, meaning it is passed down rather than caused by environmental factors. Early oral language weaknesses could foreshadow literacy challenges with reading comprehension and reading speed.

Keller said interventions before and during language support can help those with dyslexia cope with it, thereby mitigating well-being challenges, such as employment challenges.

“Early intervention is key to helping students succeed,” Keller said.

She compared students’ test data before and after the program, showing improvement across all measures. Take Flight uses a multi-sensory approach with alphabet skills, decoding, fluency, spelling, comprehension skills, and systematic sequential learning.

She said Missouri requires students in grades K-3 to be screened for dyslexia based on “I-Ready” screening program scores. Lower grades, K-1, are scored in object and letter naming fluency, while grades 2-3 are scored in oral reading fluency (reading out loud). They are sorted into groups of no risk, some risk, or at risk for dyslexia. That data is reported to the state.

Keller said that between Kindergarten and 3rd grade, 87 Fredericktown students were identified as “at-risk” for dyslexia. Students at risk undergo further testing.

Older grades, Keller said, are typically evaluated for dyslexia upon request by the teacher or parents. They screen for vocabulary, phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, and fluency, and “dive pretty deep into it” to decide what areas of weakness they have.

Keller said students receive support in specific areas where they need it.

A board member asked her what happens when the students transition out of Keller’s program into middle school or higher.

Keller said Middle School Reading Interventionist Maria Rohan provides support, even though it is not part of the Take Flight program.

Another board member said that high school students have mostly reached their potential and “max out” on their support, but will have an intervention class during “black cat time” with Joe Garrity. They even had some students from other districts join their programs on occasion.

In middle school, a board member said, they can use universal accommodations for classroom support and integrate them into regular classes. A board member said there are still responses to interventions to keep track in case anyone needs an intervention for counselors or Garritty.

“It’s really neat to see the progression of skills students build over time and how those skills come together by the time they reach the older grades,” Keller said.